


Where Is Your Sock?

by its_a_religion



Category: In the Heights - Miranda
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Hugs, I love hugs okay, Light Angst, Lowkey depression, M/M, Pete needs some milk, Sonny is a great boyfriend, Sonny needs hugs, first thing I've posted since I went on a break, idk i kinda like it though, its not a major plot point, just read it, they are pure, usnavi cooks???, usnavi is so hard for me to write I'm sorry, yikes I'm nervous!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2018-12-31 19:33:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12139560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_a_religion/pseuds/its_a_religion
Summary: Pete is literally incapable of self-care and also lowkey hates himself. Sonny’s had enough.





	Where Is Your Sock?

**Author's Note:**

> Blahhh I am back from the Arctic and I know I promised I'd be back in August but I couldn't find the time or energy to write until now but two days ago I saw ITH at a theatre in St. Paul and it was amazing and I am back and ready to write all sorts of stuff for this fandom again because there is still a gross lack of content. Now without further adieu, have some Sonny and Pete!

“Damn man you look like shit,” Sonny said jokingly as he walked up to where his boyfriend was painting a shop owner’s wall.

 

“Well hi to you too,” Pete responded offhandedly as he traded the cobalt can in his hand for a coral one and continued to paint. Sonny allowed himself a moment to trail his eyes over the shape of Pete’s body. One of the only perks of the excruciating summer heat, in Sonny’s opinion, was getting to see his boyfriend shirtless all the time. Sonny dragged his eyes down Pete’s body and noticed, much to his confusion, that Pete was only wearing one shoe.

 

“Umm babe?” He questioned, staring down at the taller’s feet.

 

“Mhm?” Pete sounded, not really paying any attention.

 

“Why are you only wearing one shoe?” Sonny questioned with a bit of a laugh.

 

“My foot was hot,” he responded as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Sonny looked at him with a face of slightly annoyed confusion. His eyes squinted, and his head pushed forward just a bit. Pete set down the can of coral, continuing to act as if wearing one shoe, on a hundred degree day, while standing on black pavement, was a good idea. He picked up a can of ivory and continued to paint.

 

“Pete!” Sonny snapped and the older turned around, a look of surprise written in his eyes. “It's a hundred fucking degrees out here! You wanna burn the bottom of your foot?” Pete looked down sheepishly as Sonny continued, “how long you been out here anyway man? When was the last time you had a drink of water or somethin’ to eat?”

 

“I don't know?” Pete said carefully, hoping not to get a lecture from his mother hen of a boyfriend.

 

“Goddammit Pete,” Sonny said exasperatedly, “I refuse to lose you to something entirely avoidable like starvation or dehydration or an infection on your now burnt foot!” Pete turned back to his painting, in an attempt to tune out the ramblings of Sonny. Instead, Sonny only got louder and more distracting. “Why do you refuse to take care of yourself? When was the last time you slept? Have you been wearing sunscreen? I don't want you to die of skin cancer! You still have a week to finish this, you should really take a break. How abo--”

 

Sonny was cut off by Pete rushing over and pulling him into a deep kiss. “How about you stop worrying, hmm?” Pete said, pulling back from Sonny. He smiled at the way Sonny chased after him when he pulled away. “Why don't you go back to your place and I’ll swing by when I'm done here. If I haven't shown up by six, I give you permission to come back here and drag me away by my earlobe. Okay?” Pete punctuated his question with a quick peck on Sonny’s lips.

 

“Fine,” Sonny grumbled. He put a hand around the back of Pete’s neck and pulled him down for one last lingering kiss before shuffling back to his apartment.

 

***

 

“Usnavi he is gonna die if he keeps living like this!” Sonny said, for what was probably the millionth time if you asked Usnavi to count.

 

“So you've mentioned,” he responded offhandedly. In all honesty, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if Pete was out of their lives, Usnavi thought. Sonny was still young. Not even eighteen yet. Pete was going to be twenty-one in a few months and Usnavi was not excited for him to be able to legally buy alcohol. He didn't mind if Sonny drank every once in awhile but Pete being able to buy alcohol? Usnavi was not prepared for that. He tuned back into his younger cousin’s ongoing rant about Pete’s inability to take care of himself. He watched as Sonny paced the length of the kitchen, throwing his hands around wildly as he spoke.

 

“One shoe Navi! He was only wearing one shoe! And when I asked him why he said his foot was hot! A hot foot? Only one of them? What does that even mean! He refuses to wear sunscreen and he doesn't wear a mask, just that dumb flimsy bandana, he spends all day inhaling paint fumes and toxic sun rays and he is gonna die of cancer, Usnavi, cancer.”

 

“Mhm,” Usnavi hummed more as a prompt for Sonny to go on than an actual response. It was honestly kind of cute how much Sonny cared about Pete’s well-being, not that Usnavi noticed or anything.

 

“ _And,_ ” Sonny continued getting more worked up by the minute, “when I told him to take a break or just drink some water he told me to leave! He said to come get him at six if he hadn’t come by yet. SHIT! Cuz what time is it!” Sonny looked like he was about to panic. His hair was sticking out in a million directions from running his hands through it, his face was red from anger and maybe a few tears although Usnavi wasn't going to put it past him, and his fists were balled up at his sides. Usnavi gestured to the clock on the wall and Sonny looked at it. 5:45 “I'm going to get him.” Sonny said and went marching out of the apartment.

 

“Dinner will be ready when you get back!” Usnavi called out as Sonny left. He chuckled to himself and pulled out Abuela's old recipe box, looking for the one Sonny had mentioned was Pete’s favorite.

 

***

 

The sounds of spray cans were all Sonny needed to know Pete was still there. He walked around the building to the wall Pete was working on. His boyfriend had since shed his other shoe as well as rolled up one of his pant legs.

 

“Pete?” Sonny approached slowly so as not to startle him. He learned that lesson already. He had once crept up and surprised Pete and was consequentially sprayed in the face with lime green paint. Pete had apologized quickly and Sonny wasn’t upset, but he learned not to startle Pete when he was painting. He would rather not get sprayed in the face again. “Pete?” He repeated, a little louder this time.

 

Pete whirled around, can forward, but, to Sonny’s great relief, not spraying. “Sonny? I thought I told ya to wait at your place for me?”

 

Sonny just stared at Pete. Waiting for him to figure out what was going on. Instead, much to Sonny’s dismay, Pete seemed completely oblivious to what was happening. “Pete,” Sonny said in an attempt to prompt any form of brain activity in the other. He was about to continue when Pete spoke.

 

“Sonny go home. I'm almost done for the day I swear. I'll be there no later than five I promise.”

 

“Peter, is is six right now.”

 

Pete looked at Sonny, dumbfounded. “Really?”

 

“Yes. Clean ya shit, put on some shoes, find ya shirt and let's go.”

 

Pete just stood there for a moment staring at Sonny. “It's six?” He asked again.

 

Sonny just rolled his eyes and started packing Pete’s paint cans into the ratty backpack he always carried around. He glanced up to see Pete staring into space, his face contorted as though he was thinking about a difficult math problem. Sonny just sighed and left him standing there as he packed the rest of Pete’s things. He found Pete’s shoes and one of his socks, where the other one went remains a mystery. He handed them to Pete who just looked confusedly down at the sneakers in his hands. “Put them on,” Sonny said with a half annoyed half real laugh. He walked along the side of the building until he found a yellowish ball of fabric laying near a trash can. He lifted it up and sure enough, it was Pete’s shirt. He carried it back to where Pete was tying his second shoe and threw it at him. Pete was startled momentarily but he got the message and put the shirt on. Sonny threw the backpack over his shoulders before grabbing Pete’s hand and dragging him back in the direction of his and Usnavi’s apartment.

 

***

 

Sonny could smell the pico pollo as he walked up the stairs to the apartment with Pete aimlessly trailing behind him. Sonny was surprised Pete could even walk at this point considering the fact that the man hadn’t had anything to eat or drink in at least twenty-four hours. He made a mental note to give his cousin a huge thank you hug. Sonny honestly hated when Pete got like this. Most of the time Pete was level-headed and smart about things, but when he got stressed out or too invested in a commission he would lose any ability he had to take care of himself and he would become spacey and distracted. Sonny knew he just had to break Pete out of his mind, but it wasn't easy to do. He wished he could just wave his hand in front of Pete’s face and bring him back to reality, but unfortunately, there wasn't usually a clear-cut way to break Pete out of this headspace. Usually the best way out was through. That fact, however, did not make Sonny any more patient.

 

Sonny opened the door and glanced behind him to make sure Pete was following. He shrugged off Pete’s backpack and kicked off his shoes as Pete wandered in past him.

 

“Hola primo!” Usnavi shouted from the kitchen.

 

“Hey, Cuz!” Sonny responded as he grabbed Pete’s arm. “Dude. Shoes.” He said pointedly.

 

“Sorry babe,” Pete blushed a little, “I was caught in my thoughts again.”

 

Sonny ran his hand up and down Pete’s bicep and gave a small smile, “I know. Maybe you can try to not get so stuck in that pretty head of yours so much?” Sonny was trying his best not to be mean, but he didn't know how long he could handle ‘zoned out’ Pete. All the worrying he was doing about Pete was taking a toll on him if the headache forming behind his eyes was any indication.

 

“I know. I'm sorry.” Pete gave Sonny a soft kiss on his forehead before leaning down to untie his shoes. After a moment he paused and, of course, Sonny noticed.

 

“What?” Sonny snapped a little more harshly than intended.

 

Pete looked up at him, a rare occurrence considering their height difference, with a stunned look on his face. “I'm only wearing one sock.”

 

Sonny couldn't find it in him to be annoyed anymore. Sometimes his boyfriend was just too much of an overgrown puppy. He just laughed, leaned down, and pressed a kiss onto Pete’s partially parted lips then stood up and walked into the kitchen.

 

“Is he still bein’ dumb?” Usnavi asked when he saw Sonny round the corner.

 

“He’s not dumb Cuz, he’s distracted. There’s a difference.” Sonny had a defensive edge to his voice which served as a warning for Usnavi to not poke too much fun at him or Pete for the rest of the evening.

 

“I made pico pollo. You said once that it was his favorite.” Usnavi tried, hoping to lighten his younger cousin’s mood.

 

Sonny smiled and hugged Usnavi, much to his older cousin’s surprise. Usnavi froze for a second before wrapping his arms around his cousin’s smaller frame. He hadn’t really realized how much worrying Sonny had been doing but now, with his cousin in his arms, Usnavi could practically feel the stressed oozing out of him.

 

Pete walked in and stopped short when he saw Sonny wrapped up in Usnavi. Feeling like he had interrupted some cousin bonding or something, he cleared his throat awkwardly, prompting Usnavi to look up and Sonny to break free of his grip. Sonny put on a fake smile, that Pete saw right through, and grabbed his boyfriend’s hand. “Navi made your favorite so you better eat!” He quipped. Pete gave a half smile and thanked Usnavi before following Sonny to sit down at the little table in the corner.

 

After dinner, where to Sonny’s relief Pete finally ate something, Usnavi said something about going to Vanessa’s for the night. Leaving Pete and Sonny alone. And Sonny wanted, no, needed to talk to Pete. The moment he heard the door click shut he whirled around on Pete and began, “for the love of all that is good and holy Peter what the hell?!” Pete stared back, wide-eyed. “I show up this morning and you are wearin’ one shoe. And you ain’t got no sunblock on, tryin’ to give yourself skin cancer or some shit! WHY?” Pete opened his mouth to respond but Sonny cut him off, “It's like you are tryin’ to get yourself sick or somethin’ man. I don't want to lose you to something completely avoidable. There ain’t no good reason why you have to be like that. Ain’t no good reason.” Sonny slumped his shoulders and looked defeatedly at Pete, “I love you too much to not care about you hurtin’ yourself. Please. If you ain’t gonna take care of yourself for you, do it for me. I know it sounds cheesy and shit, but I can't handle worrying about you all the time ‘n I’m gonna keep worrying until you take care of yourself okay?”

 

Pete nodded mutely, his expression fading from one of shock to one of guilt. He knew Sonny worried about him, he found it cute, but he hadn’t realized how taxing it really was for Sonny. He didn't realize he mattered that much. He said as such. “Sonny, I’m sorry for messin’ with your head like that. I ain’t never meant to stress ya out so bad I swear. I'm so sorry Cariño. I didn't realize I was that important I guess.” This had Sonny staring at Pete like he was made of cheese.

 

“Not that important? _Not that important?!_ Pete what the hell! You can't possibly think that little of yourself. Right?” Sonny looked at Pete imploringly but was answered with only a shrug and a loss of eye contact. “Oh god,” he muttered half to himself, “No Pete. Just. No. You realize you are like the greatest thing that ever happened to me right? Like without you, man, I would probably still be pining after Nina or some shit. Without you I would still be stuck so far in the closet I wouldn't know there was a door to get out. Without you, I would be so deep in that damn hole of depression I wouldn't know which way was up. Without you I--”

 

Sonny was cut off by Pete grabbing him and pulling him into the world’s tightest hug. “I'm sorry Sonny,” Pete whispered. He felt the boy in his arms shaking.

 

“I just--I can't live without you,” Sonny whispered as the tears started to fall.

 

“Sonny, babe, I'm fine okay? I'm sorry I worried you so much. I promise I'll try to take better care of myself.” Pete stroked a hand through Sonny’s unruly curls in an attempt to calm him down enough to have a reasonable conversation. He knew of Sonny’s issues with depression and he knew how much Sonny tended to worry and he knew Sonny worried about him, he had just never put together how it could all be connected. He never realized how much he meant to Sonny. Pete had always felt like Sonny was far too good for him, he never considered that train of thought could run the other way too. He cursed himself for being so thick-headed, but before he could go too far down the road of self-deprecation Sonny pulled out of his grip. He looked at the boy in front of him.

 

“Promise me you will drink at least eight glasses of water a day,” Sonny said sternly, waggling an accusatory finger at Pete.

 

Pete put his hands up in mock surrender. “I will. I promise.”

 

“And promise,” Sonny continued, “that you will eat at least two actual meals daily.”

 

“One and a snack?” Pete countered.

 

Sonny glared at him.

 

“Man I get too busy for real meals please!” Pete was practically begging at this point.

 

“Fine but it has to be a legit snack. Not like a bite of a candy bar or some shit.”

 

“Deal.”

 

“And the last thing,” Sonny looked at Pete, his big brown doe eyes glossy from the last few stray tears.

 

“Anything.”

 

“Promise you will never get as lost as you did today. Never to the point where I am having to go searching in alleys for your clothes while also worrying about whether you are going to faint from heat exhaustion or dehydration first, yeah?”

 

“Sounds good to me. Sorry, it got so out of hand.” Pete said, embarrassed that he had let himself get so caught up in his head.

 

“It's okay. Now get over here and kiss me, Usnavi is gone for the night and I finally have my boyfriend back.” Sonny said with a sly smile. Pete did not hesitate in his next actions. They were both glad Usnavi was gone for the night.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I want to know what yall want to read. Feel free to leave requests in the comments if there is anything you are hoping for and I will do my best to write it! Also if you liked this pile of word vomit please leave kudos and/or a comment. I. Live. For. Praise. Seriously. The only reason I keep writing is because of yall's feedback so please please please leave some! Thanks again for reading! Love you!!!


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